Israel conducted wide-scale military exercises earlier this month, its largest for two decades, simulating an attack by Hizbollah. Nikki Haley, the US permanent representative to the UN, recently wrote that "just as Hizbollah is stepping up its efforts, the United States, and now the United Nations, are stepping up our efforts against them". This comes against the backdrop of tireless lobbying by certain groups in Washington to make Lebanon and Hizbollah synonymous with one another and to hold Lebanon and its people responsible for Hizbollah's unilateral decisions and for its military adventures.
Should the US administration fall for this misrepresentation and support Israeli aggression that targets Lebanon, it would be making a serious mistake that would only serve to endanger the lives of countless innocent people and destroy Lebanon’s political and physical infrastructure. Since an Israeli aggression could not be carried out without support or at least acquiescence from the US, the anger and condemnation that such aggression would generate in the region would be channeled towards it. This would deal a serious blow to American national interests in the region and fuel extremism both in the Middle East and beyond.
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Read more from Opinion on Hizbollah
Editorial: Lebanon's executive power is hijacked by Hizbollah
A war with Hizbollah would essentially mean war with Iran this time around
Hizbollah’s regional agenda is a surefire recipe for more war
While Hizbollah celebrates its victory against ISIL in Lebanon, Syrians and Iraqis must prepare for the next showdown
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Lebanon is a mosaic of 18 religious sects and a plethora of political parties that compete for public service. These interested groups hold varying, often divergent, political views and aspirations. Their diversity is managed through a delicately-balanced consensual democracy that respects each group’s beliefs and its political outlooks. Except for a period of domestic instability during the previous century, the Lebanese people have lived in harmony for centuries. As such, Lebanon has traditionally represented a prototype of peaceful coexistence and of democratic institutions that Arab intellectuals and political activists considered a role model.
Hizbollah is one of many Lebanese political parties, albeit it is the only political entity that operates an armed militia and conducts military activities inside and outside Lebanon without the approval of either the government or of most Lebanese people. Domestic political efforts to reach a solution in which Hizbollah would disarm or merge its military wing into the Lebanese armed forces have been unsuccessful so far.
Hizbollah has also become a major player in neighbouring Syria, where it fights under Iranian supervision to uphold the regime of Bashar Al Assad. Most Lebanese want Hizbollah disarmed, but disarming it by force is not an option. Indeed, a political resolution is the only way to rectify the odd situation that Hizbollah represents without disturbing the harmony of the Lebanese mosaic.
To that end, national dialogue to settle the thorny issue of having an armed militia operating inside and outside Lebanon's sovereign territories despite a national accord to the contrary continues unabated. In the meanwhile, Hizbollah's military presence near Lebanon's border with Israel is subject to United Nations Security Council Resolution UNSCR 1701, and it is consequently monitored by the Lebanese army and by UN peacekeeping forces. Said border has been generally quiet for over 10 years.
While it would it be a fool’s errand for the Lebanese government to try to disarm Hizbollah by force, any such attempt by a foreign entity would trigger fissures that could evolve into major regional fault lines and destabilise the region. Most members of Lebanon’s parliament and its cabinet reject the existence of any armed militias on Lebanese soil and call for disarming it; and they disapprove of Hizbollah’s military involvement in Syria’s civil war.
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More on sectarianism in Opinion
A centuries-old mistrust is at the heart of Sunni-Shia tension
The rise of Shia jihadism in Syria will fuel sectarian fires
Fighting sectarianism is about more than just countering Iran
A war with Hizbollah would essentially mean war with Iran this time around
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They have instead called for neutrality and for non-interference in the domestic affairs of other countries, and they are determined to resolve the controversy over Hizbollah's activities domestically, peacefully, and on their own. They continue to call for the strictest adherence to UNSCR 1701, and they persist in working diligently and earnestly to make sure that the Lebanese army and Lebanon's internal security forces are the only armed forces in the country.
America needs more friends in the Arab world, not more animus among large swaths of people in that region. Making Lebanon synonymous with Hizbollah and holding it responsible for the militia’s unilateral actions would lead to the latter.
Adib Farha was an adviser to former Lebanese prime minister Fouad Siniora while he was Lebanon's finance minister. He is a businessman and political analyst
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Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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THE SCORES
Ireland 125 all out
(20 overs; Stirling 72, Mustafa 4-18)
UAE 125 for 5
(17 overs, Mustafa 39, D’Silva 29, Usman 29)
UAE won by five wickets
FA%20Cup%20semi-final%20draw
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Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
Match info
Manchester United 4
(Pogba 5', 33', Rashford 45', Lukaku 72')
Bournemouth 1
(Ake 45 2')
Red card: Eric Bailly (Manchester United)
The%C2%A0specs%20
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Company%20Profile
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The stats
Ship name: MSC Bellissima
Ship class: Meraviglia Class
Delivery date: February 27, 2019
Gross tonnage: 171,598 GT
Passenger capacity: 5,686
Crew members: 1,536
Number of cabins: 2,217
Length: 315.3 metres
Maximum speed: 22.7 knots (42kph)
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
LIVERPOOL%20TOP%20SCORERS
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SEMI-FINAL
Monterrey 1
Funes Mori (14)
Liverpool 2
Keita (11), Firmino (90 1)
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Suggested picnic spots
Abu Dhabi
Umm Al Emarat Park
Yas Gateway Park
Delma Park
Al Bateen beach
Saadiyaat beach
The Corniche
Zayed Sports City
Dubai
Kite Beach
Zabeel Park
Al Nahda Pond Park
Mushrif Park
Safa Park
Al Mamzar Beach Park
Al Qudrah Lakes